The Serial Demise of Africa’s Independence Parties

From Egypt to Zambia, Africa’s independence parties’ graveyards cannot be traced. Kenya’s KANU is apparently headed into that cemetery. But what plausible reason can be ascribed to these parties that ruled the newly-minted states and lorded over its populace like kings?

Those positing that that majority of African countries got independence when they were ill prepared cannot be dismissed with a wave of hands. The truth is that most ‘founding fathers’ of new African countries were opportunists who rode on the shoulders of their peasant and real freed fighters to secure personal aggrandisements at the expense of their country people. The gulf and tension between our local home guards and freedom fighters aptly drives this point home.

KANU, UNIP (Zambia) and all their derivatives may have been formed on firm foundation but suffered the curse of big brother syndrome. The Kenyattas and Kaundas of these continent were simply silent admirers of the imperialist whose lifestyles they cut-and-copied word for deeds. Their disdain for challengers remains unparalleled. But that is not the problem neither the excuse for failure of these parties. The people who inherited them took over and perfected the game with all their respective warts and thus the speedy roll to oblivion.

African countries are smarting from the collective failures of their independence parties because even the ‘cleverly’ crafted alternatives are nothing but offshoots of those clubs. And the electorate have not done themselves any favour to demand accountability and issue-based politics. Instead we have been roped into these politicians’ selfish schemes by offering them our back to ride on for political office. The busk stops with us and until we stop and re-evaluate the future of our politics, Kanu and its present OWNERS will replicate the demise of civilized politics in our continent in general and country in particular. But do we care? You guess is as good as mine.

Kenya on Sale to Highest Bidder

Kenya is abuzz and nearly suffocating with pundits weaving yarns in support of their respective political theories. That is the beautiful face of democracy which is the worse form of governance except no acceptable alternative has emerged to challenge the dogma. But pudding in democratic mean lies in its nasty and ugly face of deceit clothed in propaganda gab.

A politician success in unfortunately measured not with his character and integrity but garlanded with perishable traits exhibited through charisma and political correctness. We the electorate complete this selfish equation by allowing ourselves to be ‘cleverly’ roped I to play foot soldiers. What a nice way to negotiate a winning mega contract with neither a sweat nor bidding fee?

The problem with being tagged a ‘contracted politician’ is that it places one in peril of becoming more and more of a contract (read pay) and less and less political. Call it an occupational hazard if you may but it all amounts to the height self-deception at the altar of expediency and aggrandisement. True politicians intellectuals are a rare breed far removed from the rough and tumble of honesty. Kenya lacks them a plenty.

Whoever thought that liberalizing the media would translate to expanded upper faculties must have been from out space. Tune to any FM station or TV channel in Kenya and you would mistake the country to be chocking from intellectuals albeit of the pseudo ilk. The average Kenyan has unconsciously turned into talking heads bereft of ideologies guiding her belief and principles.

But give it to enterprising Kenyans. Even the so-called recognized experts make skewed pronouncements that intellectual dishonesty. These schooled mercenaries have their souls for the highest bidder. They shamelessly use abstracted informal logic in fallacious ways to justify their biases. With intellectuals like these Kenya surely do not need Lucifer and his derivatives, or does she?

Our political pundits have turned conventional wisdom on its own head. They have disabused us of the fact that certain ideas and explanations are not only time-tested but also unshakable true. Instead they peddle cheap propaganda that amounts to transforming conventional wisdom into an obstacle to introducing new theories, explanations, or revisionism.

Unless we look at the tribal evil in the face and confront it collectively, we stand condemned by the future generation for having unwittingly watered the genocide seed. We reason best by contract as that is why you accept being short on meeting somebody tall. Similarly we don’t win friends by antagonizing them. And why would any sane soul consciously scheme to make enemies? You are no island unto yourself and you must turn every neighbour into a pillar that makes you stand firm and happy. Pretending otherwise is to engage in half-truths can only success in self-preservation.